


Lies and Golden Eyes

by emthefireybird



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: CRYING IN THE CLUB, Camping, Crying, Emotional Constipation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Magic, Magic Revealed, Original Character(s), Pining, as always, magick, people trying to kill arthur, show magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-12-25 23:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18271373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emthefireybird/pseuds/emthefireybird
Summary: Arthur finds out Merlin has magick. Taken aback and hurt, he has to figure out what to do. He discovers some feelings along the way.





	1. Discovery

Arthur was in a bad mood. It had been a long, grueling day full of boring meetings and sitting proper. His father was worried about a kingdom to the south that he said had become “too comfortable”. Arthur thought that the old man was simply looking for something to moan about. 

Regardless, arthur was now on his way back to his room, which was a relief from the bore of the throne room he had occupied all that day. All he wanted now was to change into casual clothes and go do something. Train with the knights, maybe. Anything but just sit around. His ass hurt just thinking about sitting more.

Arthur turns the corner and walks into his room, the door having been left open by his incompetent manservant. He stops in the doorway, watching as said incompetent man-servant was crouched over the fire pit, building a fire.

“Oh bugger. Fine. Anthius inferno.” Arthur watched in abject horror as Merlin’s blue eyes flashed gold, his outstretched hand sending a spout of flames from his fingertips and into the fireplace. Arthur felt frozen in that moment, unable to process what he had just seen. Eventually, he realized that he would need to pretend he hadn’t seen it if he wanted more time to think. 

Taking two steps back, Arthur yawns loudly, fakely, and steps into the room. “Merlin. Go get me something to eat, I’m famished.”

“Yes sire.” merlin pulled the word out sarcastically in the way he always did, heading for the door. The moment merlin was gone, Arthur collapsed onto his bed, sighing.

He was hurt. Arthur was hurt, and he didn’t know what to do. He knew the proper thing to do would be to tell his father, but he didn’t want Merlin to get punished for it, much less beheaded. It had never occured to Arthur that Merlin of all people would have magick. Merlin has always been his bumbling, useless servant. Maybe friend if Arthur was in a good mood. But Arthur was not in a good mood. He was feeling tired and betrayed and just about ready to throw Merlin in the stocks.

If he thought about it, Merlin had definitely never used his magick against Arthur. Though, Arthur began to wonder what it was that Merlin had used his magick for, and found himself more and more concerned the longer he thought about it.

“-thur.” Arthur pulled himself from his thoughts as Merlin called his name again.

“Yes Merlin?” he grumbled.

“I’ve brought the food you asked for.”

“Ah.”

“Are you planning on eating it?” He pressed.

“I don’t know, is it poisoned?”

“Why on earth would it be poisoned?” Merlin didn’t know Arthur knew. Merlin didn’t know Arthur was now suspicious of him. Merlin didn’t know that Arthur wasn’t going to tell anyone. If he had known all of that, Merlin might just understand his thought process.

“Haven’t the foggiest.” Arthur answered, sitting up. He knew by the side look that merlin gave him that Merlin knew something was up. However, that didn’t mean Merlin knew what was up, and that’s what mattered.

Arthur made his way over to the table, sitting down and blindly grabbing whatever drink his servant had brought him. 

“Is there something on your mind, arthur?” Merlin asked, giving Arthur ‘the look’.

“Not really, why?” He said, like a liar.

“No reason.” It was only a moment later that that Arthur realized exactly why Merlin was asking as he went to take a drink from his goblet and promptly smacked himself in the forehead with a vase full of flowers.

Merlin giggled quietly in the corner as Arthur slammed the vase back down on the table, huffing. “You smarmy little cretin.” Arthur growled, shooting a glare at his servant. “You did that on purpose didn’t you?”

“What, made you dense enough to drink a flower pot? That one’s on you, sire.” Merlin retorted, easily dodging as Arthur chucked the vase at his head.

“Sit down and shut up before you get yourself hurt, Merlin.” Arthur commanded. Merlin rolled his eyes.

“If anyone’s going to get me hurt, Arthur, it’ll be you.” Merlin comments, sinking down to sit by the fire. That statement was far more accurate than Merlin knew. Arthur could have him killed with naught but a few words. The idea disgusted Arthur, making chills run all over his body at the idea of not having him around.

As much as Arthur would groan about how incompetent he was, Merlin was still his friend, and he was the only servant Arthur wanted around.

“I’m going to bed.” Arthur announced, standing up from the plate of food he’d barely touched. Merlin immediately sprung into action, heading over to Arthurs wardrobe and flinging Arthur’s sleepwear at him a moment later. 

As Arthur changed, Merlin circled the room putting out candles and drawing the curtains. By the time he was done, Arthur had climbed into bed.

“Anything else you need before I leave?” Merlin asked, which was unlike him.

“Nothing at all.”

“Then goodnight, Arthur.”

“Goodnight Merlin.”

 

Arthur had a lot to think about.


	2. Preperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur blows off some steam and prepares to meet the guests. Merlin continues to be suspiciously quiet.

Arthur had decided something.

Well, two things. Arthur had decided that he could trust his servant regardless of his powers. After all, if he were trying to get close to Arthur to hurt him, he would have hurt Arthur long ago. The second was that he needed to tell Merlin he knew. He didn’t want to, but he knew that he needed to. He hadn’t slept all night, and it was simply unhealthy for him to continue to let himself worry about it. 

Arthur fully expected Merlin to be late. Merlin was always late. That didn’t matter, though, because Arthur wasn’t going to tell him this morning. He wanted to plan for it. He wanted to be out of the castle, out of gossiping distance.

Arthur decided. They would go hunting. 

The problem there was that his father wanted his son around the castle the next few days. There was royalty over to visit and Uther would be damned before he passed up the opportunity to match Arthur up with just about any female noble that crossed his path.

The problem with that was that Arthur never really cared for any of them. They were all beautiful, yes, but they did nothing for him. When he was meant to court them he simply treated them like friends, because really that’s all he saw them as. Sometimes he wondered what was wrong with him. Regardless, he was dragged from his thoughts as Merlin entered the room.

“Up already, Arthur?” He looked him up and down. “Or have you not slept at all?”

“Ridiculous, I’m clearly well rested for the guests.” He said, his yawn betraying him.

“Whatever you say, sire.” Merlin went about setting out Arthur’s clothes and tidying up around the room, sending questioning glances over at Arthur every so often. The glances were beginning to get on Arthur’s nerves, but he knew he had to wait to be able to talk to Merlin about it.

Arthur watched as Merlin opened one of the windows, the pale early-morning light casting across his face and making Merlin’s blue eyes shine. It reminded Arthur of the magick he held. It also reminded him of a robin’s egg. Shaking the thought away, Arthur finished clothing himself.

“What do I have to do today?” Arthur asked Merlin as he put on his boots.

“The guests from the next kingdom over are getting her around noon, and after that there will be formalities and a small gathering to celebrate their visit.” Merlin told him. Great. He had until noon to blow off some steam. 

“Alright, Merlin. We’re going to the training field.”

“Right, to get all sweaty and gross right before the guests arrive. Good idea.” Merlin rolled his eyes at him and began gathering Arthur’s armour.

“Oi, no back talk from you.”

“Yes sire.” Merlin rolled his eyes yet again. 

Arthur stood stock still as Merlin pulled his chain mail over his head. He waited as Merlin helped him with the rest of his armour, deft fingers fixing the fastenings as he went. Arthur would never tell him, but Merlin was rather good at that. His fingers would graze skin every so often, which gave Arthur a strange feeling in the pt of his stomach that he didn’t know how to place. 

Merlin was done just as fast as he began, after which he stood back to admire his work. “Shall we?” Merlin opened the door of Arthur’s chambers. Arthur headed through.

The walk through the castle and down to the training field was quieter than usual. Merlin himself was quieter than usual. Arthur was fairly sure this was due to his behavior, Merlin was worried about the prince.

Once they arrived Arthur collected his bow, then immediately tossed one of the many round wooden shields to Merlin.

“Really?” Merlin asked. Arthur usually only did this exercise when he was mad at Merlin for something. Which, he was, but Merlin didn’t know that. Arthur drew his bow and turned to the man.

“Start running before I change my mind about the shield.” Merlin rolled his eyes at that, and began jogging farther out into the field. Arthur sent arrow after arrow his way, each time landing the arrow somewhere on the shield. 

It wasn’t long before Merlin began to slow, out of shape as he was. Arthur groaned and yelled across the field. “You can stop, you weak fool.”

Merlin looked relieved despite the insult, and came slowly back as he dragged the shield behind him. Arthur huffed as his incompetence and put his own bow away, not wanting to wait for his servant to do it.

When Merlin finally reached him, the first thing out of his mouth was: “Are we done training for today?”

“You are. Go find somewhere to sit.” he clapped his servant on the shoulder as he walked by, causing Merlin to make an exaggerated “Ow!” before he went to rest on the bench.

Arthur was now switching from bow to his sword, knowing he had about an hour before he needed to go get ready for the guests.

The knights were not there today, so Arthur set up a practice dummy to chop into bits; and that, he did. He spent the next hour turning the wooden dummy to pulp, looking over every so often to see if Merlin was watching. He was. 

Eventually, drenched in sweat and standing in front of what was now nothing but a pile of sticks, Arthur called it quits. Sheathing his sword he waved Merlin over, who came over from his bench.

“Let’s go get ready.” He said, leading Merlin back up the castle grounds.

Once in his chambers, Merlin immediately started undoing his armour, his deft fingers ghosting over skin as he undid fasteners. Arthur felt strange, and he didn’t like it. After getting down to the chain mail, Merlin spoke up. 

“I assume you’ll want a bath, sire?” It wasn’t really a question, as Merlin had already began to see to his bath.

“Yes, Merlin.” Part of him wanted to show up to the other royals smelling like an unwashed bum, but he knew if he did his father would not be impressed. Arthur began to strip. It felt weird now, knowing that Merlin was keeping secrets from him and that Arthur still trusted him wholly. Maybe that’s why his stomach dropped to his boots when Merlin gently touched his shoulder. 

“It’s ready.” Merlin told him, walking past to grab a cloth from the cupboard nearby. Arthur finished striping quickly and got into the warm water. He somehow felt more exposed now than he had before. When merlin came back with cloth to help him bathe, Arthur almost protested. He knew if he said anything, Merlin would not only be hurt, but he would be more concerned about Arthur than he already was, so he held his tongue.

He leaned forward as Merlin began scrubbing at his back, washing away the dirt and sweat of that morning. He had always enjoyed baths with Merlin’s help, at least after the first bout of awkwardness when he first became his servant. When Merlin passed him the cloth to wash his front, Arthur knew what was coming. Merlin began kneading at his shoulders, rubbing his back. Every servant Arthur had was meant to do this, but Merlin was just so damn good at it. He groaned as Merlin worked at a knot in his back. Sadly, the pampering was over as quickly as it had started, leaving Arthur to finish his bath himself. 

Arthur watched closely as Merlin went about gathering his good clothes. He had been watching Merlin closely ever since he saw him use magick, as if he was hoping his manservant would slip up again and truly confirm what Arthur had seen last night. Merlin, however, did not use magick to pick out Arthur’s clothes, to Arthur’s disgruntlement.

Realizing he had completely stopped what he was doing to watch him, he quickly finished his bath as stepped out. 

“Merlin, where’s my-” The towel hit him square in the face, interrupting him. He huffed and wrapped himself in it. Merlin brought his clothes over to the princes bed, plopping them down unceremoniously.

“Is there anything you need before you go greet the guests?” Merlin was being attentive, and Arthur didn’t like it. It wasn’t like him at all and it made him uncomfortable.

“No, Merlin. You’re free to go until supper time.” Merlin nodded and ducked out of the room, leaving Arthur with no company but his thoughts.

Arthur was beginning to worry about Merlin, likely just about as much as Merlin was worrying about him. For now, though, Arthur had to push those thoughts away. He had guests to greet, after all.


	3. Suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur has to go on a date with the royals daughter, Elaina. Though, there's something he doesn't know about her. Merlin comes to the rescue.

(Merlin’s perspective)

It took practically no time for Uther to set Arthur up with the royals’ daughter; Elaina. Merlin realized that Arthur was annoyed by this quite easily, as when he came back to his chambers Arthur had been huffing and pacing back and forth. Elaina wasn’t ugly or annoying herself from what Merlin had seen, but Arthur often got agitated when Uther set him up with other royalty. From what Merlin could tell, he despised forcing this sort of thing, and it seemed he had to in order to keep relations between the families.

In usual Uther fashion, he had planned the date for Arthur and Elaina. He had planned a date for them literally the day they had met each other.

So, despite Arthur’s obvious reservations, he was getting ready for their date. Or, more accurately, Merlin was getting Arthur ready for his date. 

“Are you excited?” Merlin asked nonchalantly as he tossed some clothes Arthur’s way.

“You know I’m not.” Merlin had already known this, but it was a relief to hear. Why was it a relief to hear? Merlin didn’t know. He wanted Arthur to be happy, obviously, but something about Arthur getting in a relationship just felt...wrong?

“Where are we going?” Merlin asked.

“The forest, I think.” Arthur shrugged.

“For a date?” Merlin knew Arthur wasn’t the most romantic person, but surely there was somewhere better he could take Elaina.

“Yes, father mentioned a picnic of some sort.” Arthur sounded relatively unbothered by the fact.

“You’d think his highness would’ve stopped setting up play dates for you at your age.” Merlin made his signature “fucking rich people” face and turned away.

“You’d think.” Arthur shrugged, pulling his shirt over his head. “Let’s go.” He said, heading for the door.

“Wait.” Merlin said, gabbing Arthur’s sleeve. He turned to him.

“What?”

“Your hair’s a travesty.” Merlin said, reaching up to fix it. Arthur had a terrible cow’s lick on the side of his head.

“That’s rich coming from you, Merlin.” Arthur scowled as Merlin fussed with his hair. Merlin knew he was right, his hair basically looked like a black nest most of the time.

“Shut up, you prick.” Merlin dropped his hands and stepped away, frowning. Arthur would be going on his date with a half cow lick for that comment.

It took less than a half hour before Elaina, Arthur, and Merlin made it to the spot where they were meant to have their date. They had ridden horses, though Merlin was forced to walk while wearing a giant pack with everything for their picnic.

As they reached the spot by the lake, Merlin began setting up their things.

“I admit, I picked this spot especially for us.” Elaina said, leading Arthur over to the water.

“It’s certainly… quaint.” Arthur responds. Merlin can’t help but smirk at the comment.

“Would you mind getting me a lily?”

“A lily?”

“They’re my favorite flower.”

“Alright then.” Arthur proceeded to pull off his shirt and wade into the water. As he did, Elaina approached where Merlin was standing by the picnic. 

“Move.” she said rather rudely, pointing off to where the horses were tied to a tree. Merlin had a strange feeling about the women. Maybe she had been rude, but Merlin was more concerned about her being alone with the food. As he made his way over to where she had pointed, he knew he was out of earshot. Curious, Merlin whispered a spell to himself. 

‘Tantum audi procul videre’ The spell caused his eyesight to become much better, as well as his hearing. As the spell took effect, he caught the end of what Elaina was whispering over Arthur’s wine skin.

“-en Morietur.” She finished and quickly put the wine skin down as Arthur approached, wet from the neck down and holding a bundle of water lilies. Merlin knew what spell she was murmuring, it was a strong poison. It would take a few hours, but the spell was fatal.

Merlin watched in horror as Elaina offered Arthur the wine skin. Knowing he was out of earshot, Merlin knew he would have to use magick to stop her. ‘Praemium’ He whispered, and watched in relief as the wine skin burst, the poisoned liquid spilling onto the ground. Merlin whispered a small ‘sorry’ to the grass, knowing full well the poison would sink into the grass and kill it.

Elaina huffed in a frustrated way, and looked over to where Merlin was standing. Merlin, to his credit, made himself look busy with the horses.

“It’s alright, Elaina, we have another wine skin in the basket.” Arthur told her, handing her the skin. Merlin kept his ears perked and his eyes open, unsure whether Elaina would attempt the spell again. To Merlin’s relief, he heard nothing of importance up until their date was coming to a close.

“Merlin! Come pack up!” Arthur called. To Merlin, that phrase was a huge relief. He pulled himself up from where he’d been resting by a tree and approached them.

“Arthur, dear, would you go ready the horses?” Elaina said in her best sticky-sweet voice. Merlin saw Arthur’s grimace as he walked off. Once he was out of earshot Elaina grabbed Merlin’s wrist, her nails digging into his skin. “I saw what you did, traitor.” She hissed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, miss.” Merlin responded, trying not to show the pain on his face.

“Sure you don’t. Watch yourself.” She growled, throwing Merlin’s arm away from her forcefully and going to join Arthur by the horses.

“They’re only here for two more days. I can do this.” Merlin whispered to himself. “Two more days.”


	4. Foretold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elaina finally reaches her breaking point, while Arthur attempts to figure himself out.

One and a half more days. The guests would be there for one and a half more days. Arthur was almost dreading them leaving, knowing he would have to face Merlin once they were gone. On the flip side of this, he had began to bloody hate Elaina. He had witnessed her hit several servants, talking to each of them as if they were animals. It was really starting to annoy him.

Arthur had just brought Elaina on a morning breakfast date, in which she had cussed out one of the servers for “putting her plate down wrong”. Arthur had decided that he hated her more than any of the other snobby royals who had visited over the years, which was quite a feat if he was honest.

Arthur watched in horror as Elaina raised her hand to slap Merlin for offering to help her off her horse. Arthur grabbed her wrist on instinct, not even flinching as Elaina shot him a glare. 

“How dare you.” She snarled, ripping her hand away from him and climbing down from her horse. “How dare you touch a lady like this!” She stormed away.

“Bloody hell.” Merlin whispered, but Arthur heard.

“You okay?” Arthur asked him.

“Yes, thank you Arthur.” Merlin said.

“Father is going to kill me.” Arthur stated, knowing that Elaina was definitely going to complain as they spoke.

“Yes, yes he is.” Merlin agreed. 

They were right. The action of grabbing her wrist resulted in a twenty minute “conversation” about respect and the treatment of servants. To Arthur’s surprise, apparently Elaina had proposed a “make up” dinner. Uther also said he wanted Merlin in the stalks overnight. Merlin, for his part, seemed extremely upset about this. More upset than he usually would be about being put in the stalks. When they were dismissed, he pulled Arthur aside. 

“Arthur. I think she’s trying to kill you.” Merlin whispered.

“I know she’s no spring daisy, but that’s a bit dramatic, Merlin.” Arthur responded.

“Did you not notice when I gave you new goblet after you went to the bathroom?” Merlin asked. Arthur had noticed it, but had simply not bothered to say anything.

“You think she’s trying to poison me?”

“Yes; and I won’t be there to switch your goblets anymore.” Merlin sighed, looking worried. Arthur began to wonder what else Merlin had done to stop her.

“Was she using magick?”

“Yes. I heard her.”

“I trust you Merlin, but I need to be able to prove it if I want to tell father.” There was a pause as both of them thought about what they could do.

“I’ll bring father to dinner with us.” Arthur stated.

“Brilliant. I can also ask Gwen if she can keep an eye out.” Merlin suggested. Arthur nodded. He rushed off and Arthur went to invite his father to the supper. Thankfully, he agreed.

Arthur was relieved when he entered the dining room. In the corner, Gwen stood with a wine cask. She gave him a little wave when he entered, which he returned with a small nod. 

The comfort ended there, though, as he went to go sit with Elaina and his father. Elaina was sending an evil eye his way that he was sure would convict her as a mass murderer if looks could kill. His father was simply sitting quietly, sitting stubbornly in the awkward silence.  
Thankfully, the silence was short lived as the servers entered the room, placing their plates in front of them.

“This is insulting! Where’s my wine?” Elaina exclaimed, which caused Gwen to come over with her cask. Elaina glared at her as she poured her wine, clearly not appreciating the service.

The dinner itself was quiet, none of the three royals really wanting to speak to each other. Eventually, they were done eating, and Elaina stood. 

“I have a poem for you.” She said, circling the table to stand in front of them. Arthur had a bad feeling about this, but didn’t want to cause a scene. He would need a reason to leave. He looked over at Gwen, who also seemed alarmed. 

“When the night hides duo avium,”

Arthur promptly downed the rest of his wine and waved her over, mimicking a spilling gesture.

“I simply hide lapis.”

If Gwen were to ‘accidentally’ dump wine all over him, he’d have a perfect reason to leave.

“When this catullus in,”

Gwen let the cask slip from her fingers, the wine spilling over the table, onto Arthur’s lap and splattering all over Elaina’s clothes. Elaina fell quiet. 

“Sorry, sire, I didn’t mean-”

“YOU CROOKED NOSE KNAVE! YOU DOXY! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!” Elaina screeched, throwing her hands up into the air. “I DON’T CARE ANYMORE! YOU WILL PAY! TE FORTE SATURATUS-” Uther’s eyes widened, finally realizing what was going on. “-EVOMAS-”

“GUARDS!” Uther shouted. The guards flooded in and grabbed a hold of Elaina. 

“UNLEASH ME YOU HEDGE BORN IDIOTS!” She screeched and kicked, eyes wild. Arthur simply watched, not feeling a shred of regret. They drug her down the hall toward the dungeon.

“Arthur, go get your servant and go to your room. I have some talking to do with Elaina’s family.” Uther said, spitting the last part as if he were disgusted by her. Arthur nodded, rushing off to the stocks.

It was already dark out, the sky was clear, and the moon lit the streets. Despite how [peaceful and clear of a night it was, it was definitely cold.  
As Arthur reached the stocks, he saw only one figure there, and he knew it was Merlin. “Hey, Merlin.” He said.

“Hi Arthur. Have you come to mock me or tell me I was right?”

“The second one.” Arthur admitted, kneeling down in front of Merlin. He was covered in juice and bits of fruits and vegetables, as was customary for being in the stocks. Arthur gingerly picked a piece of tomato off his face and flung it on the ground.

“Are you going to let me out or are you just going to mock me.” Merlin huffed.

“Easy, I’m letting you up.” Arthur told him, flipping the latch on the side. Merlin immediately pulled himself up, groaning. 

“Sometimes I think the stocks are worse for my back than my complexion.” Merlin sighed, wiping at his face.

“You might be right about that.” Arthur shrugged, pausing for a moment as Merlin attempted to rid himself of fruit and veggies. “Let’s head home.” Arthur said, patting Merlin on the shoulder. Despite the casualness of the action, it made Arthur’s heart jump.

When they reached Arthur’s chambers, he finally got a good look at Merlin, who he decided had done a terrible job of ridding himself of produce. 

“Merlin, please.” He pointed to the basin in the corner. “Fix yourself.” Merlin sighed and did as he was told. Arthur grabbed a shirt and tossed it to Merlin.

“Really?” Merlin asked, looking disbelieving.

“Yes. you smell like a rotten marketplace.” Arthur told him. Merlin gave him a look but once again listened to him.

Arthur tried not too look to long while his servant changed. Key word being “tried”. His heartbeat picked up as Merlin lifted the shirt over his head. He only managed to pull his eyes away when Merlin turned around.

“I think its too big…” Merlin said. Arthur looked over again and realized exactly how right his servant was. The sleeves went down past Merlin’s fingertips and the top sagged, making it fall off Merlin’s shoulder.

Arthur felt weird. Like, really weird. When he looked at Merlin his stomach turned all weirdly and he didn’t like it. His head felt all light and he didn't like it. He needed to get away from him.

“Go home Merlin. We have plans tomorrow.” And they did. With the way Elaina had turned out, he would be able to bring Merlin hunting tomorrow. Arthur almost dreaded it, but he knew Merlin would likely be more upset than he would be.


	5. Means to an End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur finally tells Merlin that he knows his secret. It goes... well, you'll see how it goes ;)

Arthur was awake far before Merlin got there. To be fair, he had barely slept at all, and his one or two hours of sleep had been restless. He had spent the whole night playing out his conversation with Merlin in his head. He wasn’t sure how Merlin was going to react, and the last thing he wanted was for him to run.

Arthur, for his part, knew he wasn’t going to do anything to hurt Merlin because of his magic; but Merlin didn’t know that. Who knew how he would react.

Arthur, growing even more restless than he had been before, pulled himself from his bed and began pacing.

Merlin was late, as per usual. This in and of itself was not a bother to Arthur, not usually. But at this point he wanted him there so he could stop thinking quite so hard.

As if Arthur had thought Merlin into showing up, there was a quiet knock at the door, quickly followed by Merlin himself.

“Ah, you’re awake.” Merlin said, surprise evident in his voice.

“I’ve learned not to rely on you to wake me.” Arthur shrugged. Part of him wanted to grab Merlin by the shoulders and tell him right then and there, but Arthur had been waiting for a reason, and he wasn’t going to ruin that now that he was so close.

“Fair enough.” Merlin began tidying around Arthur, as he had been doing for the past few days. The more competent Merlin became at his job, the more Arthur began to worry. Perhaps Merlin thought Arthur was mad at him? Regardless, he wouldn’t have to put up with his servant being too competent for much longer. 

“We’re going hunting today.” Arthur announced. Merlin looked up from what he was doing for a moment.

“Hunting?”

“Yes. I could use some leisure. The past few days have been rather stressful, don’t you think?” Arthur said.

“Have you told the knights yet? I can-”

“They’re not coming.” Arthur stated matter-of-factly. Merlin looked surprised, but said nothing.

“Very well, I’ll go get your gear and ready the horses. That is, if you can dress yourself?” Merlin asked mockingly, clearly poking fun at the prince.

“I assure you Merlin, I know how clothing works.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Arthur gave him a playful swat to the back of the head as he headed out the door.

It took Arthur less than an hour to ready himself and tell his father where he was going. Uther had simply given a solemn nod, a strange contrast to his usual complaints. Arthur supposed Uther thought his son was getting over the heartbreak of Elaina being a sorceress. Arthur knew this wasn’t the case, but he’d rather leave his father to believe whatever let him head off into the forest with only Merlin.

When Arthur got to the courtyard, Merlin was standing with the horses. Kind spirited as always, Merlin was brushing the horses and seemed to be talking to them.

“Get a response yet?” Arthur asked, which delightedly made Merlin jump.

“Very funny, Arthur.” Merlin said sarcastically.

“Ready to go, Merlin?” Arthur asked, taking his horse’s reins before Merlin had even answered.

“Yep.” Merlin mounted his horse and watched as Arthur did the same.

“Let’s go then. I’ll beat you to the forest!” Arthur took off before Merlin could respond, the sound of the horses’ galloping hooves on the cobblestones ringing out around the courtyard. To Arthur’s surprise, it wasn’t long before Merlin had caught up to him, and it took him even less time to pass Arthur. Arthur tried every means to get his horse to go faster, but it seemed to no avail. Arthur was beginning to think the horses were on Merlin’s side.

Eventually, he reached the entrance to the forest, where Merlin was sitting prim with his horse.

“Took you long enough.” Merlin smirked. His horse huffed behind him, and Arthur had a feeling the animal was laughing at him. 

Devoid of a comeback, Arthur simply said “Shut up, Merlin.”, and began trotting his horse into the forest. It was only a few moments before he heard Merlin’s horse fall in behind him, slowly making its way forward until he and Merlin were riding side by side.

“So, Arthur.” Merlin began, as if Arthur was meant to know what he was going to say next.  
“Yes, Merlin?” Arthur responded.

“What’s the real reason you brought me out here?” Arthur looked over at Merlin at this point, swallowing around the lump in his throat.

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“I ain't calling you a truther.” Merlin raised an eyebrow at him. Arthur rolled his eyes. 

“I’ll tell you in a bit.” He responded gruffly.

“Hah! Knew it.” Merlin’s face curled into a smug grin at having known Arthur had a secret. Arthur was growing steadily more ready to explode the closer they came to him telling Merlin.

Eventually, Arthur had had enough. The next clearing he saw, he told Merlin to stop. As they both dismounted and tied up their horses, Arthur’s hands were beginning to shake. 

“You okay?” Merlin asked, concerned.

“I’m fine.” Arthur said, like a liar. Merlin made a face but didn’t press the issue. Arthur made his way into the center of the clearing, then looked around for a moment, feeling lost. Merlin stood a few feet to his left, watching him. It was a few silent moments before either of them spoke up.

“Arthur?” Merlin posed the prince's name more like a question than anything else.

“Come sit, Merlin.” Arthur told him, finally having made up his mind. There was only so much worrying Arthur was capable of before he just had to deal with it. 

Merlin wasn’t some dragon that Arthur had to slay, he would know how to deal with that. Merlin was a person, and that meant he wasn’t a problem that Arthur could solve with a sword. 

Taking a deep breath, Arthur looked at his servant, who had settled cross-legged in front of him. He was watching Arthur with a quiet patience that Arthur would never understand.

“Merlin, I… I wanna preface this with saying I’d never hurt you. Well, not on purpose.” Arthur was watching Merlin closely, and he was beginning to look more and more worried the more Arthur spoke. Arthur knew he wasn’t good at this, but he didn’t want to scare him off. Opting for physical comfort in place of verbal comfort, Arthur grabbed his servant’s hand from his lap, regardless of how the action made his heart jump. Merlin looked at him like a wild animal, confused and scared. 

“Merlin…” I know you have magick. That was all Arthur had to say. Yet the words kept getting stuck in his throat.  
“Yes, Arthur?” Merlin coaxed.

“Merlin, I know… I know your secret.” Arthur finally said. Merlin’s eyes widened.

“You’ll have to be more specific Arthur, I’m a very mysterious person.” Merlin said in a joking tone, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Merlin, we both know that’s not true. You… have magick.” The moment the word ‘magick’ came out of Arthur’s mouth, Merlin looked as if his world was falling apart.

“Arthur, I can explain! I just, oh gods.” Merlin drew into himself, pulling his hand from Arthur’s grip. Merlin’s voice was filled with panic, and it made Arthur’s chest ache uncomfortably. Merlin was practically a ball at this point, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head tucked downward, like he was trying to make himself as small as possible.

“Merlin-” Arthur reached for his friend’s shoulder, only to jump back as it gave him an electric shock. Arthur had seen a lot of magick in his time, but never something like this, never something unprovoked by words. “Merlin please, I’m not-” 

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it.” Merlin responded. His voice was quiet and feeble, yet loud enough to easily reach Arthur’s ears. Arthur heard tears in his voice. It made his heart break for him.

“I’m not going to kill you, Merlin.” Arthur told him, surprised Merlin would even think something so extreme.

“What are you to do then? Lie to your father? Keep a secret for a servant you hate?” Merlin said the words mockingly, as if they could never be true.

“Yes.” Arthur responded with authority.

“No… you’re trying to trick me. This is all a cruel game!” Merlin exclaimed, pulling further into himself. Arthur sighed, frustrated. 

“Merlin, you should know me well enough by now to know I wouldn’t do that.” Arthur came to kneel beside his servant, not daring to touch him again. Merlin’s shoulders untensed slightly, but he said nothing. Arthur realized he would need another push. “I’m going to draw my sword, but just so I can throw it away, okay?” Arthur told him. Merlin nodded. Arthur stood and took a few steps away, taking his sword from its sheath and tossing it a few feet away. He felt helpless without it. Merlin could very well take him over at this point, but Arthur didn’t care.

“Look, I’m trusting you now Merlin. Please trust me, just for a moment?” Arthur kneeled in front of his servant, holding his hands out to show they were empty. Merlin pulled his face up from his knees for a moment, peeking out at Arthur. Arthur had to admit that this was very cute, but he didn’t say anything in the moment. 

He ducked down slightly to bring himself to Merlin’s slouched over eye level.

“I’m not going to hurt you, and I’m not going to tell anyone.” Arthur told him, holding his gaze. Merlin uncurled slightly. Arthur took this as a trusting moment, and so moved his hand slowly towards Merlin. His hand grazed Merlin’s knee, and Arthur felt no shock there. He continued until his hand was resting on the side of Merlin’s face. Merlin looked surprised at this, and began to relax even more. 

Before Arthur really knew what he was doing, he was leaning in, and Merlin didn’t pull away.

The kiss was chaste, a bit awkward, but neither of them seemed to mind.

“Arthur?” Merlin asked yet again, as if to confirm what his prince had just done.

“Yes, Merlin?” Arthur responded.

“You’re a clotpole.”

“Wha-?”

“You should have kissed me first!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Please leave a comment as they brighten my day more than you could imagine :)
> 
> (The next chapter is a small drawing I did for the fic)


	6. Very Gay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sum gay shit

(I LOVE THESE BOYS)


End file.
